Dear Readers, Thank you for joining us again in our November issue. As we celebrate a season of gratitude and gather with our friends and loved ones, we here at Drawl are grateful for your continued readership. Part one of our holiday issue includes stories from several writers, a few new album reviews, and tips to help you prepare for entertaining while helping others. Remember that our subscription drive is still going on Indiegogo. You can buy a subscription for yourself and we have several options that make great gifts. We wish you safety, comfort, love, and plenty of delicious food this Thanksgiving season. We hope to see you back in a few weeks for part two of our holiday issue. Gratefully yours, Summerlin Page...

It’s an exciting time! Well, it’s exciting until you find yourself at the grocery store on Wednesday, or God help you, Thursday morning. We’re gearing up for our holiday and want to bring you along for the ride! To get us started, here’s a list of what Drawl is doing right now to get ready for Thanksgiving! Our Pre-Turkey To-Do Clean out your refrigerator and tidy up the pantry. We know. You don’t want to do it. We don’t either. But, we have to make room for the groceries and advance-assembled casseroles (and leftovers!) and we have to take stock of what we have already, so we might as well go ahead and throw out last year’s can of fried onions and the freezer-burned cranberries of good...

For people who love to cook and entertain, Thanksgiving is high on the list of ideal holidays. It’s a time for both tradition and trying out new recipes, for getting out the good china for dinner and flopping on the couch later with the half-empty pie pan. Most of us have a steady repertoire for the holiday that features our favorite family dishes. This test kitchen knows you’re not looking to us for a new way to make your turkey. But, we also know that sometimes you need a new side or a fresh idea for the table. We also realize that there are a smattering of dietary needs that may show up at your table. With all that in mind, we bring you some new twists on old...

With so much on the holiday table stewed, creamed, casseroled, gratined, and souffled, it’s a relief to see a vibrant green vegetable, simply prepared. At one holiday, my grandfather referred to these as company green beans, and it stuck. If you have a copious amount of sides, a pound of green beans will serve four. If not, you might want to figure a pound for every three people, provided they aren’t expecting green beans that are cooked into army green oblivion. (Hey, we’re not judging. There is a time and place for those beans, and we love ‘em.) Company Green Beans Vegan & Gluten-free Ingredients 1 lb. fresh green beans ½ tsp. olive oil salt to taste 2 medium garlic cloves, peeled and chopped ½ tsp. red pepper flakes Procedure Set...

Dear Readers, Football is winding down, the cotton pickers are cranking up, the color change has reached the lower elevations, and sadly, our outdoor pumpkins are starting to slump a little. As the chill settles over the Southeast and the wind blows the leaves about, we feel the urge to welcome people inside for a warm drink and conversation while still soaking up every bit of the sunshine that’s left. I’m finding myself holding tightly to autumn while all the people and businesses around me put up twinkling lights, dust everything into a white snowscape, and plow full steam ahead into That Other Holiday that’s Coming Later. We decided to put out this special Thanksgiving issue to encourage ourselves and those around us to slow down and enjoy this holiday...